


Hart of the Bear

by alderberry, RittaPokie



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Blood Rituals, Dalish, Dalish Elves, Elves, Gen, I'll add shit as shit happens, M/M, Other, Thedas, cheesy romance title is cheesy, dragon age elves, i don't even know it's just a think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:59:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6280069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alderberry/pseuds/alderberry, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RittaPokie/pseuds/RittaPokie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the year 9:37 Dragon Clan Lathvhen faces annihilation from an evil which stirs under their homelands; their only hope rests in the hands of two odd clan members who don't quite yet know how far reaching their actions will go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. :::Prologue:::

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there is a prologue.  
> there may be more.

The sun trickled through the branches of the ancient pines creating long streaks of light which dust fairies danced in. Ga'laven watched his older brother studiously the youth would begin his own apprenticeship soon now that he had turned twelve. His gut was full of excitement and trepidation as in only two days time he would take his spirit walk to see the clan's spirit guide and learn which path he would walk. He know he would not be a hunter; his vision was too poor but he still carried a child's hope deep inside. The life of a hunter sounded much more exciting than as a healer or the keepers second and so he watched Alasenalath.

"Where you nervous?" Ga'laven asks "For your spirit walk?"

"A little." Alas looks back over his shoulder at Gala. "I knew which path I would be given but walking in the spirits realm did not sit well with me." 

"Was it scary?" 

"I got a little lost at first and there were a few spirits who tried to confuse me but there were no demons." he assures his little brother.

Ga'la hums in understanding though the idea of the Beyond where the spirits dwelt did not worry him so, simply the outcome of what Wisdom would say. Movement from the bushes catches his attention and looking beyond his brother he spots a pair of hares foraging. 

"Look." Pointing towards the small animals. "I would say supper is a better use of your next arrow than the target." 

Alas follows his brothers direction and gives a low whistle of amusement as he trains his next shot.

"How you can spot such a small beast from two hundred paces but can barely see a halla at twenty will forever confound me." a soft chuckle as he releases the arrow making a clean shot.

Ga'la grins at the sideways praise and the beauty of the shot it would have been nice if they could have gotten both hares but one would make a decent meal for the family and their mamae would be pleased. 

*****

The first full moon after a child's twelfth birthday marked the time of their spirit walk and the beginning of their apprenticeship for the children of Clan Bothelg. Ga'laven had been scrubbed clean and spent the day fasting... a very tricky thing for a twelve year old boy before being ushered into the keepers tent by Keeper Havriet, a small well aged man with soft deep eyes in a weathered face and silvered hair. He wore his ceremonial cloak the foxes mask pulled over the upper portion of his face cascading down his back and over his shoulders as fur and feathers.

Thick incense choked the air already and a circle had been drawn on the floor marked with five points holding various offerings, the skull of a young hart stag, crystals of various types Ga'la couldn't identify, a silver bowl used since the clan left the Dales, feathers and claws of various beasts, and other items Ga'la barely recognized.

He was made to stand as Keeper Havriet painted runes and markings with paints made of boiled animal fat, pigments, and lyrium the wizened elf singing a deep throaty song which which had been shared with their Avvaran allies for centuries asking the spirits for protection while walking in their realm. He could feel the magic in the symbols and words as they were brushed over his skin raising the fine hairs on the back of his neck like static. 

Once decorated he was laid out within the circle and the Keepers first settled into her place, a deep barreled drum in her lap which she began to play taking up the song in her sweet crooning voice accented by low surging beats from the drum. He could hear his clan outside the tent, some also singing but most he knew would be enjoying the revelry which came with a spirit walk. There had already been sacrifices during the day, the aroma of the roasting ram making his empty belly rumble. His mouth watered thinking of it and he was thankful to know that some of it would be set aside for when he woke. 

"Remember child, I will be there to protect you but it is you who must find your way." Keeper Havriet says his voice deep and graveled like old stones. He settles within the circle next to Ga'laven sitting cross legged and calm.

Ga'la could feel the magics taking effect, the drum took control of his heart beat slow and steady as his mind began traveling over the near tangible waves caused by the crooning song and his eyes grew too heavy to remain open.

It was dark the only sound that filled the air was the heavy breathing of his parents and Alas as they slept. Just outside a light danced playfully. Ga'laven's curiosity got the better of his thoughts and he shuffles out from under his brothers heavy arm and from the shared pile of blankets and furs.

His breath clung heavy in the air as he stepped away from the tent into the snow but the moonlight warmed his skin and he needed no cloak or coat. The light which drew him out still danced in the air it's form shifting and swaying like incense smoke between a child like being and an animal. On seeing Ga'laven it shivers with excitement.

"Child." it speaks or rather emits as Ga'la heard the words but saw no mouth in which the being could speak from. "Child of the Stag, you have come!" 

"You know of me, spirit?" Ga'laven asks surprise in his voice.

"We have watched. You're people are known to us. They are welcome and we walk with you even when you wake." 

"Walk with me?"

"With your people." it clarifies with a laugh. "Now you walk with us. Come, play!"

The snow covered camp gave way to the rocky slopes of the mountains. Wild flowers turned dark faces to the pale sun and their fragrance filled the air sweetly. As Ga'laven reached the top of the next rise he looked over the valley, the sails of the the clans small aravel far off dotting the woods and field red. Brown and white mountain goats grazed on the grasses and flowers which found their way between rocks while their lambs bounced and jumped across boulders. Ga'laven smiles at it all it was amazing and bright and the sun soaked into his skin while the breeze coming from the mountains still had bite.

A sudden realization struck him the world was crisp. He could see the flowers and mountainside just as well as the goats in his usual range of clarity.

"I can see!" he exclaims his jaw dropping.

"oh, can you?" The spirit asks landing on a boulder looking very much like a fox though preening spotted feathers of a mountain eagle. 

"Is it because this is your realm?" Ga'la asks.

"It is because your will shapes it." the answer coming with another laugh as the spirit bounds away once again lightly landing on boulders. 

"My will?" He had heard of those with magic being able to control the Beyond where the spirits dwelt but hadn't thought of himself ever doing such. His question this time receives no answer.

"What is your name, spirit?" squeezing between two tall cliff faces which cut off the way forward but for a narrow passage barely large enough for the small elven boy. Stumbling out he finds himself in an ancient forest with tree's so massive they nearly blot out the sun overhead. The musky scent of rich earth filling his lung as animals kreen out of view. 

"I am Guidance." it says, pausing to watch Ga'la as he takes in the world around him.

"That is an odd name." he says decidedly.

"As is Come and Go." another light hearted laugh from the fox.

He frowns at the stab towards the meaning behind his name only to gain another laugh before the spirit takes wing. Ga'laven follows after his mind settling on the instruction that we was to find his own way.... was following this spirit against the rules? Alas has mentioned that spirits had tried to confuse him, but could tell Ga'la little else about his time walking with them. 

The forest bled into a rolling valley dotted with ruins and blood of a thousand lives lost. Ga'la again paused to take in the world pausing to study the fallen. Elves and humans alike laid out before the skies unceremoniously remaining where they had fallen. The stench of rotting flesh drifted on the breeze and Ga'la's face soured.

"Where is it that you are taking me?" crouching by the nearest of the bodies who stared up at the empty sky and closing their eyes. "Why would you bring me here?"

"I go lead you to where you want, nothing more." Guidance answers walking along the crumbling bricks of a wall.

"Why would I want to come to a place like this?" stretching his arms out.

"You choose you're own path, Child of the Stag." it answers solemnly. "I merely show you the path to where your heart yearns to go." 

Ga'laven surveys the plains, trying to find a path which did not involve wading through the fallen. A single road followed a deep trench meeting up and following a river which waters ran murky. Further beyond on the horizon great towers stood in a green haze.

"What is that place?" He asks pointing.

"That was once a great city, it fell long before I came to be. Sickened by the pride of mortal man." 

"Arlathan?" he asks

"Perhaps?" the fox grins enjoying the boys questioning mind.

"Halamshiral?" looking around once again to try and gather where he was, it felt far from him and the Mountains which he had spent his entire life no where in sight. But what other cities would be in his mind than the great Elvhen cities of the past?

"What ever it was once named it is now only know as the Black City to those who see it."

Ga'la furrows his brow. The name was familiar from somewhere he couldn't quite place. He'd never paid much heed to the tales of what lay in the spirits realm.

"Has anyone ever gone there?"

"Many have tried and only once have they succeeded. Men from Tevinter, a land far from your Clan, entered the City. It was them who blackened it's halls and caused the golden spires to crumble." Giving a brief summary of the Cities History.

"Tevinter, that is who enslaved my people." He remembered that much of his studies at the very least. 

"Yes, it was the Tevinter Empire. They once ruled all the world which is known to your people. Your clan uses the ruins of their roads to travel through the marsh lands." 

With a curt nod Ga'laven turns his back to the Black City and decided to pick a path through the blood soaked fields instead only to be stopped by the waters of the river. It looked calm on the surface but he knew enough of rivers to know the currents below could be swift and it looked as though it ran deep. He clenched his jaw disliking the thought of entering the murky brick coloured water knowing the red hue was from the blood soaked earth but there looked to be no other way across unless he traveled along side it for unknown distances as it cut a slow path through the valley and he wanted to be far from this place as quickly as he could. 

"I do hope you are not leading me astray." He comments to the spirit who had settled beside him before stepping forward.

The water froze solid under his foot and he felt the cold air of winter carrying the scent of pine and snow. Hesitation left him and he took a few more steps as the world once again shifted around him the stone pillars which once flanked the banks of the river morphing into trees and the river beneath him a frozen lake. The world around him was muffled by the blanket of snow and and air was harsh in his lungs but this was something he knew. 

"As I said child, it is you who lead... I simply show the paths you can take. It is up to you on if you take them." 

"Even though you are Guidance?" stopping as the ice underfoot groaned and creaked from his weight, as little as it was.

"You could have taken the road, would that not have been easier and more pleasant than crossing the river?"

"I do not wish to walk their road." 

"You had multiple paths which I gave guidance towards, you chose which one to follow. This is where walking away from the Black City leads you." The spirit smiles.

"I do not think I like your paths very well, Guidance." He grumbles.

He continues across the ice thinking on the spirits words. It had seemed a pretty reasonable thing to walk away from the Black City but he couldn't make sense of how that would lead him to a frozen lake. He had not gotten much further however when the ice gives out from under him and he plunges into the icy water.

Panic clouded his mind as the cold sucked out his breath and water rushed in searing through his lungs.

"You are not drowning. The water is not real, Child." a voice so deep it resonated through Ga'la's chest speaks. 

His mind grasps at the words trying to make sense of them. He knew it wasn't real, none of it around him was real, but it felt real. The pain in his lungs the searingly cold ice wrapping around the exposed parts of his skin. His mind would not let go of the panic even as the ground rose up under him and the water drained leaving him in a shallow crater. Pillars of greenish black stone rose around him and more of the same material hung in the air as if stone had always sat in the sky. The haze which had been wrapped around the Black city was here as well clinging to the fringes of the crater.

Ga'laven gasped for breath real or not his lungs still ached for air and his heart raced pounding loudly in his ears. No longer following the slow rhythm of the drum played in the wake world he could hear it in the background noise of his mind. He tried to concentrate on it, let it lull his heart to it's slow beat. 

A deep chuckle drew his attention to a spirit which stood before him. It took the shape of a man but wore the skin and mask of a bear.

"Welcome, Child of the Stag. " 

"What is this place?" Ga'la did not know how to feel about the alien space.

"This is the Raw Fade. The place the Elvhen call the Beyond when it is not being shaped by the mind of those who walk in it."

"Why... is it different?"

"You're mind could not break from what you shaped. The Fade is shaped by the will of those around it, my will is simply greater than yours. A fact which has just saved you much suffering, Child." The spirit explains. "But you did not seek me simply to ask of my home. What do you seek of Wisdom?" 

"Wisdom?" Ga'la stares up at the spirit, large and towering. He could not see the spirits face for the shadow cast by the mask but a flask of teeth while the being spoke and eyes shining a dull green entranced Ga'la.

"Yes. I am a spirit of Wisdom. It is not often that any but your Keeper has sought me out while dreaming, and even rarer still a child."

"Are you who I was to find?" he had never been given a clear objective to the spirit walk, simply that he would have to find his path.

"You do not know?" the spirit asks bemused.

"Of course I do not know. I was never told." Ga'la crosses his arms, the pout on his face making him look very much the twelve year old child he was. 

"He told you to find your way, did he not?" 

"Well... yes. But my way to what? I thought it would be much more clear. I find you you tell me what I am to do." 

A great smile bares the spirits teeth, while sharp they held no sinister feel. "You where never told to seek me?"

"No..."

"You must find what it is you seek, then you will be able to find your way."

"That answers nothing." He protests having hoped for something more concrete and much less round about.

"perhaps not yet, but remember what you have seen this day, child. It will do you a great service in the future but now it is time to wake."

"Wait!" He could hear the beating of the drum louder now, still out of sync with his heartbeat. The heavy incense of the ritual filling his nostrils and just as quickly as he fell asleep he wakes.

***

Keeper Havriet had kept his word, following as he could disguised as a small bird. He had been surprised when the spirit of Guidance had shown such an interest in Ga'laven and how strongly the young elf had shaped the world around him, traveling to places even the old keeper had never dreamed of. What had shocked him the most however was that the boys journey had taken them to Wisdom. 

After Ga'laven woke Havriet took his own form and greeted the spirit respectfully.

"I had not expected such things from the child, I will admit I am quite surprised by his command of the Beyond."

"The will which he exudes is not merely his own. There is another whom he is connected to. The Stag child has a difficult path before him." Wisdom hums. "One which will require the skills of a hunter... he will not walk the easier paths but seek that which would break one who is lesser. Be it for good or ill I could not say."

"Would he not make a better second?" Havriet had been hopeful when he saw Ga'laven's control over the spirits realm.

"No. He will not be able to ever fully reach into this realm from that of the waking world. Nor will his heart remain with Bothelg. He will leave and search for that which he does not yet know."

Havriet nods, disappointed but he would not question the spirit of Wisdom's words.


	2. Come and Go

Voices.. he heard voices but that couldn't be right, he had to be hallucinating. No one was out here… not this far in the mountains. It didn't matter anyway. The icy water no longer felt cold but wrapped around him like a mothers embrace urging him to sleep. His brothers voice… shocked, yelling something he couldn't quite understand. It was too hard to focus… hands on his arms, pulling. His last thoughts where how foolish he was to try to cross the lake but at least he would see his family again.

Searing, stinging, heat. It raced through his body stealing the breath from his body as strongly as the ice had. He gasps struggling to take in air as it burns in his lungs. Every nerve ending felt raw as his muscles seized colours flashing in his vision reds and greens, white. Bright. Blinding. And then it was gone.

As the fire in his veins settled the cold rushed in again. Not numbing or biting just simple cold. His lungs still ached making his breath come hard but the air rushed in.

Voices crept to the end of his conscious. Words he knew but couldn't comprehend.

“You should have waited for the Mage, Arctos!”

“I had to act fast.”

“Now we have two wet freezing elves on our hands, Creators mercy you could have gotten yourself killed as surely as the kid.”

“but now you have two frozen but living elves on your hands.”

He tries to open his eyes but his body refuses to listen as the world fades out one again.


	3. Chapter 3

It was warm and dry and the thick scent of burning herbs filled Ga'laven’s nostrils urging him to wake. His body still ached but it was distant. Again he heard the voices of a woman and a man speaking softly nearby. His eyelids were heavy but obeyed this time as his eyes flutter open the warm light of a lamp illuminating the small tent thick with incensed smoke. An attempt to sit up proves less fruitful however as his muscles refused. The small amount of movement shifting the fluid in his lungs however and sending him into a fit of ragged coughing.

“rest, da'len” the woman’s voice turns towards him. “You need rest, you are safe in my home.”

“mamae…?” his voice refusing to create sound above a murmured groan as he catches his breath.

“No, da'len. I am Saharni, a healer. You are still fevered and a sickness has settled into your lungs” the words holding an edge of concern as she presses a cool hand to his forehead. “but you are very lucky Astros happened upon you when he did.”

Ga'laven stared at the woman, dark hair and furs with eyes which caught the dim light reflecting it back as a rich emerald tone with the graceful lines of Sylaise surrounding one . He didn’t attempt to speak again but simply traced her movements with lazy golden eyes.

“Arctos, if you could help me. Elevate his head some so we can get this elixir into him.” She says turning away towards the second voice Ga'laven had nearly forgotten about. He tries to move again managing to shift only slightly as his body still felt remarkably heavy. 

The owner of the second voice came into view. He bore the lines of Andruil on his face pulling his angular features even sharper even so his dark eyes were soft and brow furrowed slightly in concern. Ga'laven gave a quiet groan of protest as Astros slide an arm under him to prop him up as Saharni placed a cup filled with a warm milky liquid to his lips.

“Drink, Da'len. It will help the fever.” She says softly.

He chokes down several mouthfuls of the bitter concoction of halla’s milk, herbs, and honey much to Saharni’s relief before entering another coughing fit.

“Get him to drink what is left.” Speaking to Arctos once again. “I still have duties to attend to before tomorrow night.”

“Of course, Saharni. He shouldn’t be too much trouble.” Arctos answers helping Ga'laven roll to his side as he still struggled through the coughing.

“I will bring some more water from the springs to add to the fire. The steam will help pull the illness from his lungs.” She states with worry etched on her brow before slipping out the door.

As the coughing fit subsides once again Arctos shifts to sit on the head of the small cot pulling Ga'laven over so he was propped up against him.

“You heard the healer, da'len.” taking up the cup she had set down. “let’s get this into you while you’re still awake. Much easier that way.” he smiles.

The grimace that crossed his patients face almost pulled a laugh from the man having been on the receiving end of Saharni’s medicines before he understood completely. No matter how much honey was mixed into the elixir nothing could cover the bitter taste. Even still he managed to get half of the cup down in small bursts with encouraging words before his eyes once again began to droop. Effects of the elixir already coming into play.

Arctos remained where he was for awhile listening to Ga'laven breath. He could hear the liquid in his lungs but the breathes were steady and strong. Alone in the tent he had time to study the stranger he had pulled from the frozen waters in much more depth.

He was young, younger than he had looked fresh out of the water now that Saharni had washed away the soot that had shaded his eyes but certainly old enough to have the odd vallaslin; if that was what it even was; the underside of his nose blacked out and a thin line that cut down his lips and neck to disappear below the collar of the tunic he had been placed in. His dark hair a mess of braids and twists his rich complexion flushed with the fever.

“Just where did you come from I wonder.” Arctos says aloud as he settled himself into a more comforting position not having the heart to move Ga'laven further.


	4. Chapter 4

The fox darted inbetween aravels and tents pausing only long enough for Ga'laven to catch sight of it again before laughing and running to the next point in its game. Spirits crowded the area, more than he had ever seen in one place and the very ground shook with excitement of what was to come. He freezes when he notices that it was not just benevolent spirits but demons as well restlessly circling the area.

  
" Väglelgar, what is happening here? Why so many?" He asks, fear tingeing the edge of his thoughts.  
"It is their way. They honour and cleanse." the fox says before running once again.  
"Whose way? Elgar'spöke or Nordvhen" Following dutifully  
"Yes." laughter from the fox as it reaches the edge of the Dalish clan's camp.  
"That answers nothing."

  
He scowls as comes up beside the creature looking towards the direction it faced. A thick fog was settled over the land beyond more thickly than just the obscuring haze of the Fade. He could see a figure in the fog, cold air lapped at his skin causing hair to prickle and stand on end. It floated above the ground circling like a buzzard towards a carcass.

  
"What is it, Väglelgar?" his voice a hushed whisper his chest tightening in an all too familiar manner; memories of his clans slaughter coming to mind the sight of their bloody bodies ripped apart by the Darkspawn which had boiled from the ground six years ago when the fifth blight had began.  
"Despair." it says somberly "Lathvhen has had a troubling year. If they slay despair then elgar'spöke vhenallin will aid them."  
"huh." He grunts watching the creature in the fog. It's movement had become more sporadic causing Ga'laven to feel ill at ease  
"They will call Despair to them, and once slain the blood children will be shown their steps. It is their way." The fox settles onto its haunches giving the elf some reassurance that it was safe enough where they stood even if no other spirit or demon dared to draw closer.


	5. Chapter 5

Adria was young. Only in her fifteenth year but pale and emaciated as a wasting sickness had taken root and grown inside of her that the healers were unable to cure; the clan mourned even greater for her sacrifice. Her sunken cheeks still bleed from Falon'din's vallaslin she had been given just that morning, they would not sacrifice a child. She walked proudly into the summoning circle; adorned in rich emerald robes a diadem sat on her brow and every finger wore a ring. Her throat held a single large rain drop pendant upon an ironbark gorget inlaid with floral patterns and her wrists held bangles of every thickness some with jewels and made of precious metals some as simple as twisted threads braided by children on June Vunin. Settling her place with assistance from Saharni and the clans Keeper Theras. Adria smiles warmly at the two her eyes still bright and playful despite her failing body.

"Ma serannas." her voice weak and body shaking with the effort it had taken to reach the summoning circle. "din'abelas, Keeper. din'abelas, Saharni. I am proud to help the clan as my final act."

"I know da'len. I know." Theras spoke solemnly placing a hand on the young ones cheek. "My heart still feels sorrow." 

"Dareth shiral, da'len." Saharni says placing a gentle kiss on Adria's forehead. "We shall begin." 

Saharni then offers the young woman a silver bowl, once in her hands the healer empties a decorated flask into it. The lyrium infused drought glowing a pale blue and illuminating the three softly. Adria drinks deeply feeling it rip down her throat warming her stomach almost painfully before the sensation dulled and spread first to her chest and as she began to feel the warmth in her face the world began to spin as though she had had too much wine before the world around her slipped away.

****

The excitement in the air was infectious and Ga'laven found it hard to sit still himself. Other spirits had joined him and the fox at the edge of the fog. Eager to see the event unfold or to help Ga'laven didn't know. The despair demon grew more and more agitated twisting and churning in the fog as the ground around it began to frost over. Then suddenly it stops. Hovering close enough that Ga'laven could see it's misshapen form, bony arms and legs falling out of tattered robes and the elongated incisors behind peeled back lips giving an almost rodent skull like appearance. It turned it's gaze on the elf and his heart nearly stopped. A flood of memories washing back into his mind; his brothers body in his arms so vividly recalled he could almost feel the warmth of the blood on his hands. Ga'laven scrabbled to connect to any other memory to break the demons hold before it could fully form.

"Demon!" a woman's voice from the fog. Clear and bright and strong.

The call brought a tinge to the base of Ga'laven's spine. The force behind it cutting through the threads which had started to form. Despairs inhuman shriek causes a shiver to run through the elf's body as it wiped around to face the caller.

"I am Adria Milasah of Clan Lathvhen and I have come to claim you." 

Ga'laven peered through the fog trying to catch even a glimpse of the woman in awe at the sheer force of her will already beginning to reshape the fade around her. The ground churned and thawed as the fog melted away, revealing the center of a summoning circle in which the young woman stood. She held her head high and shoulders back, emerald robes flowing over her body and adornments catching flickering light from sources Ga'laven could only guess. Strikingly blue eyes shone framed in richly hued skin which held the mark of Mythal in vivid red; and for a moment the young hunter thought he could be looking at the Creator Mythal herself despite her declaration.

Despair lets out another shriek as it dives for the woman. Adria extends her arms as a halo of light forms around her body a look of pure determination on her face. The demon grabs at her claws digging into her body as she sinks her own hands into despair.

"Do not." the fox says as Ga'laven jerks impulsively wanting to rush forward to help her. 

The movement catches Adria's attention and she spares a glance over, vivid blue meeting his gold. Shock shows on her face for the split moment before the halo engulfs both woman in demon in a blinding flash.


	6. Chapter 6

"Enasalin!" the keeper cries as Despair falls. "The demon is slain." the fighters roar, chanting words they scarcely remember the meaning for, swords, bows, and staves raised.

"Dareth shiral, Adria." an older elven man says more quietly, and the others fall silent. "Your sacrifice will be remembered."

"Velanril, your services are required." the keeper calls to a young elf. She only just began training with the shaman of Falon'din this year after Vunin Vallaslin. She nods, a nervous edge to her movement.

Velanril approaches the lifeless body of the young Adria, who only a day before had been so proud and alive to give back to her clan in ways she hadn't been able to since the wasting sickness took over. Adria is only a few years younger than her. She glances at her mentor before drawing an ornamental blade of bone carved intricately for Falon'din. It is her job to bleed the sacrifice's body into the bowl shaped impression in the ground carved out long ago by their ancestors for this very purpose, but she has never done it before.

"She will feel no pain." her mentor says, standing over her. "Fulfilling your duties, though gruesome they may seem, does not make you a bad person."

"It just...feels so disrespectful." she murmurs.

"It isn't. Her blood brings with it a new path for our children."

"And it is my duty." she says.

"Da'len, if you are unable, you may observe. This is only your first, after all."

"No. No, I can do this." she nods, determination setting in her expression. Her own vallaslin are barely healed and sting lightly when she scrunches her features. She takes a deep breath and swipes the blade across Adria's throat. She makes a squeak, startled, when blood spurts with force once before oozing out more slowly.

"Very good." her mentor says, patting her shoulder as she stands to back out of the path of the flowing blood. "I do not think we will need a second cut."

"Bring forth the bloodlings." She calls to the keeper, proud that her voice only shakes a little.

 

  
"You chose a good apprentice, Ashiris." Arctos says, finally joining the rest of the clan. The older shaman of Falon'din nods their head.

"Velanril is worthy of this duty." they say. "And did far better than I did on the first Theneras'eth I oversaw."

"I will congratulate her later."

"If you can be drawn away from the elf you saved for long enough?" the elder chuckles. "Diving into frozen waters in winter. You're lucky you didn't lose any fingers or toes."

"Well, there's still a long winter ahead of us. I've still time." Arctos jokes. "He's been asleep this whole time. I wonder what this must be like from that perspective."

"For an outsider, it would be strange either way." Ashiris says.

"Does Theras predict any dreamers this year?" Arctos asks. "We've had none for a few years, I think he worries we've upset the Creators."

"They come and go." the shaman waves their hand dismissively. "Theras always worries."

"He does indeed, always in knots about something." Arctos glances back at the aravels, ears twitching.

"Mm, you remind me of him."

"How so?" the younger elf's attention returns to the elder, confusion knitting his features.

Ashiris shakes his head. "Go back to your charge. The namings are never that interesting."


	7. Chapter 7

Ga'laven sat with his bow in his lap his jaw was clenched and lips set in a thin line. Arctos could see the glisten of tears beginning to well up in his eyes that he tried to blink away as he ran a hand over the cracked and splintered wood. The bow had been the second thing he asked about upon waking the first having been if he was dead.  
There was no denying the craftsmanship of the well worn ironbark weapon; it's arms curving elegantly and etched with numerous animals while leather bound the stress points marked with runes which none of Ga'lavan's rescuers could read. It was well cared for despite it's obvious age other than the crack in the middle and broken grip created when the lone hunter had fallen through the ice.

  
"It's important to you?" Arctos already knew the answer by the young man's face but the silence was heavy.  
"It was my brothers..and my father's before him." Ga'laven's accent pulling out the wrong vowels and resting in his throat in a manner which was utterly foreign to Arctos. His voice soft as if he was afraid to speak least the emotion he held back come crashing out.  
"maybe our-"  
"What of my other things?" cutting Arctos off as he looks over brow furrowed into a glare.  
"Saharni has everything. Your clothing and armor's been cleaned and dried and our Master Crafter took care of mending your armor, whether everything from your pack remains and is unscathed I can't say."

  
He grunts softly looking back to the bow.

  
"Despair..." Ga'laven chuckles  
"what?" Arctos's face twisting with confusion.

  
For a moment he thought he saw the hint of a smile still clinging on the young man's lips as he turned the bow in hand slowly inspecting the damage closely. Ga'laven sighs his lungs rattling which lead to a fit of coughing that lasted nearly a minute leaving him red faced and struggling for a few deep breaths. The older hunter could offer little but to rub Ga'laven's back until the fit settled.

  
"I'll go to Saharni and get your things as well as some more of her drought for your lungs." Arctos states waiting until he was able to breathe calmly again before standing.

  
Ga'laven nods letting himself fall backwards into the cot after the other man was gone. His mind trailing over the events of his life of the last few months. Väglelgar had told him to travel north, away from his home he had shared with his brother after they had fled from the darkspawn which slaughtered their clan. They have taken refuge in a small valley far west from their original home and had settled into life full of talks of finding a clan yet never attempting to seek one out. After his brother had died from a hunting injury Ga'laven had remained in their valley for another two years until Väglelgar had come to his dreams for the first time since he was a child. She has persisted when he first ignored her until she haunted his dreams nightly.

  
"Is this where you wanted me?" He asks the silence of the tent. The air was still stiflingly humid under orders of Saharni and he envied his caretaker being able to leave.

  
There was no response of course as he was fully awake and his guide could only speak to him in dreams. He asked it all the same. His mind drifted to his care taker... or perhaps guard? There had never been any indication of him being held against his will or that they saw him as a threat so he doubted guard. The man had been there every time he had awoken in various area's or state of wakefulness himself and had shown nothing but genuine concern for him. It made his heart ache as it dredged up memories of his brother, of what it felt like to not be alone to the point he could weep; he didn't; but he could. Ga'laven pulls the bow to his chest, another thing which could have caused him to weep if he was the sort to. The heirloom was one of the only things which connected him and his brother to both their fathers. He prayed he could be able to repair it and so long as all his belongings including his clans Arulin'Holm was still intact and safe there was a chance.

  
He didn't realize he had drifted back to sleep until the blast of cool air hit him from Arctos re-entering the tent. The man wasn't alone nor was it Saharni with him this time. Ga'laven squints trying to see the details of the new face. Ashiris was older than his caretaker with the fine lines of Falon'din decorating his face and blackened lips which Ga'laven could not tell was a variance of the vallaslin or painted as well as thickly lined eyes which studied him back. He wore intricately embroidered robes tied with a richly coloured sash.

  
"Andaran atish'an, da'len." They speak with a voice was warmer than Ga'laven imagined it would be.  
"Andaran atish'an, Hahren." Ga'laven echoes as he pulls himself back to a seated position.  
"Tell me of yourself, da'len." they say as they settle into the seat most commonly claimed by Arctos.  
"What would you have known, hahren?"  
"Your name would be a customary first in getting to know a stranger."  
"Ah... yes." Ga'laven murmurs his eyes shifting to Arctos for a moment as his usual care taker found a place for himself. "Ga'laven."  
"where are you from Ga'laven?"  
"Most recently? The Tirashan."  
"You are right his accent is quite fascinating." A throaty chuckle escapes them as they look to Arctos. Turning their attention back "and before that?"  
".... east... and south." Ga'laven could feel his face flush from the mention of his accent. It had been some time since his last interaction with others and he easily forgot that his was the foreign tongue outside of the Frostback Mountains.  
" The Dales?" Ashiris' brow furrows perplexed.

  
Ga'laven grunts shaking his head and gesturing vaguely indicating further gaining a nod from Ashiris.

  
"And your clan?"

  
He sat silently for some time staring to the ground. His hand slipping to the cracked bow unconsciously seeking the comfort of the familiar object.

  
"They are gone.. for five years now."  
"I will not pry then." Ashiris says. The timing and direction giving some clue of the fate which had befallen many when the Darkspawn poured from the earth. "Just know you are welcome here, da'len. I will warn you though you are quite the topic of interest." They smiled warmly patting him on the shoulder. The touch caused Ga'laven to jerk in surprise and the shaman quickly withdrew the hand "I will leave you in Arctos' capable hands unless you would prefer someone else to watch over you."  
"..He pulled me from the waters?" glancing over to Arctos again.  
"Yes." the shaman's word accompanied by a grinning nod from Arctos.  
"Then he is good if I must be watched." Nodding firmly.  
"Rest now, da'len. Perhaps you will be willing to humor and old elf when you are better rested. My and Keeper Theras' curiosity is eased enough for now at the very least."


	8. Chapter 8

Watching the others brought the smile to Ga'laven's face, if one could call it a smile it was so faint. It softened his features and made his golden eyes shine but barely cracked his lip but for the smallest curve on one corner. The rules of the game the others were involved in was confusing to him but seeing them run circles around each other throwing the disk made of reeds and leather was wildly entertaining. 

"it's all right to tackle the one guarding the goal?" He asks Arctos who was sitting beside him, his near constant companion for the last two weeks since being pulled from the ice. 

"No, they'll lose their teams guard for a minute for it." he explains

"hmn" Ga'laven hums in understanding. He wanted desperately to join them but he knew his eyesight would be against him even if his lungs weren't still weak and any attempt at activity sent him into violent coughing fits. 

Glancing over he notices that Arctos was once again watching him, the hunter did so a lot. Pulling his attention away from the game for a moment he stares back studying the man as he often did trying to figure him out just as much. In some ways the man reminded him of his brother; their age would have been the same had his brother been still alive with angular features accentuated by Andruil's vallaslin. At times when Ga'laven woke at night he would for a moment think it was his brother before the realization seconds later that it wasn't and bringing a pang to his chest. Arctos and his brother varied in many ways physically but it was the man's deep earthen eyes that drew the most attention from Ga'laven. Sharp and bright and usually held a smile in them while they spoke. 

"When you've recovered I'll teach you how to play" the man promises, a smile on his lips.

"I would have troubles with it...being able to see the disk." He frowns the ever present squint hardening for a moment. 

"hmm." Arctos hums frowning himself.

Ga'laven nods finding himself watching Arctos as he spoke. It had been so long since he had been around others he still couldn't trust it to be real. Deep down he feared he would wake and find it all to be a dream but when Arctos reached across drapping his arm around Ga'laven's shoulder it assured him it wasn't.

"but for now Saharni want's you to have at least one soak in the springs before the clan continues on tomorrow. so shall we start the trek?" 

The younger elf leans into Arctos slightly and gives one last wistful look at the group playing before nodding and gathering himself up eager for even a casual walk after being cooped up in the tent for the better part of the two weeks.


End file.
